Patent Application
20110047938
The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for packaging agriculturally grown food items, particularly fruits and vegetables, and relates more particularly to segmenting and then packaging such food items.
Whether fruits or vegetables are marketed intact or following cutting or other segmentation, there are a number of concerns which must be addressed. The food item must be sanitary, the processing and packaging must be cost efficient, the presentation should be appealing to perspective purchasers, and preferably the nutritional value of the food item should not be downgraded. While the concerns are relevant in the marketing of whole (“raw”) fruits and vegetables, the concerns are accented once the food item has been cut. It is estimated that fruit which is at least partially exposed air tends to have a shelf life of 7-10 days after the fruit has been cut. The shelf life for a cut vegetable is generally the same length. Chemical reactions that are accelerated after the cutting of the skin (e.g., the rind) will change the color, flavor, and nutritional properties of the food item. Chemical changes may be enzymatic or non-enzymatic, but in either case the results are undesirable.
Techniques that work well in preserving a fruit or vegetable after a cutting process include sealing the cut food item within a can or a jar. However, as the quantity of the food item within a single can or jar decreases, so does the cost effectiveness of the packaging. That is, it is much less difficult to cost efficiently seal a large volume of a fruit in a can or a jar then to cost effectively provide a single-serving can or jar.
Various other types of containers are described in U.S. Patent Appln. Publn. No. 2006/0249516 to Giumarra. Many of the containers described in Giumarra allow exposure of the food item to air, but the food item is typically uncut. For example, the produce container that is claimed in the Giumarra patent application is an elongated container for storing produce such as berries and grapes, with a removable top and a number of apertures formed in a bottom plate. The apertures in the bottom plate permit ventilation and allow drainage of any produce fluid or condensation from the container.
Regardless of the type of container, the processing and handling of agriculturally grown food items must be carefully considered, particularly if the fruit or vegetable is to be cut prior to packaging. For example, the rind of a watermelon or pineapple provides protection for the fragile edible interior until the watermelon or pineapple is cut. Moreover, sanitation issues are more acute after the food item has been cut.
While many of the known approaches to handling and packaging agriculturally grown food items operate well for their intended purposes, the motivation for improvements remains.
In an automated method and system for packaging agriculturally grown food items, the interior region of the food item is exposed so as to permit extrusion of a number of segments from the interior region. The extruded segments of food are then inserted into a number of packaging units. In order to minimize or eliminate the required handling by humans, mechanized techniques are employed to accomplish the exposure of the interior region of the food item, the extrusion of the food segments, and the insertion of the food items into packaging units.
In order to expose the interior region of the food item, at least a portion of the exterior is removed. For example, if the food item is a pineapple or a watermelon, rind is removed. The percentage of removal is dependent upon the extrusion technique. In some applications, only small portions at opposite ends of the food item are removed. This is possible for food items which are relatively cylindrical in shape, such as some types of pineapple. However, other applications may require complete removal of the exterior, such as with food items in which the edible portion is generally spherical, such as some types of watermelon. Still, the preferred embodiment of the invention is one in which the extruded food segments are equal in length, so that the removal process may be used to condition the food item to achieve this goal. As one possibility, exterior portions of the food item may be removed to output the interior region so as to have a cylindrical or box shape.
The extrusion of the food segments from the exposed interior region may be executed using an array of extrusion members in which adjacent extrusion members are parallel to each other. The extrusion members enter the interior region to extrude a corresponding number of food segments. In one embodiment, the extrusion members are cylindrical and each includes a cutting lead edge (such as a serrated lead edge) to facilitate movement of the extrusion members through the interior region. As used herein, the term “extrusion” is defined as establishing the shape of the food segments by applying force through the food item.
The food segments that are extruded from a particular interior region are inserted into a number of packaging units. Typically, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the number of extruded food segments and the number of packaging units, but the alternative is to insert multiple food segments of the same fruit or different fruits into each packaging unit. The shape of the packaging units may correspond to the shape of the extruded food segments. Thus, the packaging units may be tubes and the food segments may be cylindrical. If the food segment has a sufficient length, the packaging unit may be covered and marketed as a single-serving unit for display and sale at store counters or counters at food establishments.
Sanitation and processing efficiency are promoted if the extrusion occurs continuously with the insertion of the food segments into the packaging units. In one embodiment, the packaging units are located immediately below the exposed interior region of the food item as the extrusion occurs, so that the food segments are immediately placed within the packaging units. A first conveyor sequentially moves the food items into the appropriate position, while a second conveyor that is below and at an angle to the first conveyor brings arrays of packaging units into alignment with the position. Preservation of the food segments may be enhanced by providing a fine mist of a citric spray as the extruded food segments are introduced into the packaging units.
Often, the packaging units are then capped. For embodiments in which the packaging unit is a tube, a cap is placed on the tube and the unit is then conveyed to a wash area to remove syrup or any other by-product of the food item. A tamper evident band may be placed on the capped unit using techniques known in the packaging industry.
Other operations may be added. While the mechanized system is preferably designed to eliminate human handling after the interior of the food item is exposed, sanitation remains a concern. Thus, one or more washing cycles may be added. For example, in using the system for packing segments of pineapple, the uncut pineapples may be exposed to a chlorinated wash and a flash pasteurization. Additionally, the removal of the exterior of the pineapple may be followed by a wash process that does not affect the taste or chemistry of the edible interior region.
With reference to
The interior regions 14 of the pineapples seated on the first conveyor 14 progress to a pair of positions in which extrusion occurs. However, in other embodiments there may be a single extrusion position or there may be more than two extrusion positions. At each such position, an extrusion device 22 and 24 is positioned to move downwardly and upwardly. Each extrusion device includes an array of cylindrical extrusion members 26 that are positioned in alignment with the openings 18 within each seating region of the first conveyor 16. In operation, the extrusion members 26 are pressed downwardly through the interior region of the pineapple, with each extrusion member forming a food segment. In the illustrated embodiment, the extrusion members are parallel to each other and are in a circular array. However, the geometry of the array is not significant to the operation of the system 10. Since the openings within the conveyor are aligned with the extrusion members, these food segments may pass through the conveyor and enter aligned packaging units 28 that are located on a second conveyor 30. Each arrangement of packaging units corresponds to the arrangement of extrusion members, so that the extrusion process and the insertion process are executed continuously. Thus, the “mechanized packager” of this embodiment is merely the second conveyor and the control system for coordinating movements of the system components. In other embodiments, the mechanized packager may be more complex.
Following the extrusion process, each remainder 32 of the interior regions includes passageways from which the food segments have been extruded. The remainder 32 may be used for providing other food products, such as shredded pineapple.
In the embodiment of
As compared to the top view of
A sanitizer 38 may be considered to be either at the input side of the output side of the second conveyor 30. At the input side, the sanitizer may be used to sterilize the packaging units 28 prior to receiving pineapple segments that are inserted by the extrusion devices 22 and 24. At the output side, the function of the sanitizer is to remove any juices and other by-products of the pineapple from the exterior of the packaging units. The sanitizer preferably includes a capping capability for placing caps on the individual packaging units. The capped and sanitized packaging units may then be sold as single-serving nutritional snacks for sale at grocery and restaurant counters.
While not included within the illustrated embodiment, the automated system 10 may include sanitizers 38 on opposite ends of the second conveyor 30. As a related feature, it has been determined that providing a fine mist of a citric acid spray during insertion of the pineapple segments into the packaging units aids in retarding degradation of the pineapple segments.
In the side view of
The automated process for packaging agriculturally grown food items in accordance with the invention will be described with reference to
At step 54, the extrusion process provides the food segments from the exposed interior region. In the illustrated embodiment, eight pineapple segments are extruded, but the number of the extruded segments is not critical.
A fine spray of citric acid may be applied to the extruded food segments, as indicated at step 56. For some agriculturally grown food items, the spray is helpful in retarding the enzymatic process. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, steps 54, 56, and 58 occur in a continuous manner. That is, the food segments are extruded and sprayed, with the extrusion providing the means for inserting the food segments into packaging units. Thus, if the packaging units are in alignment with the extrusion members, the exposure of the food segments to a potentially damaging environment is minimized. However, there may be embodiments in which the three steps are performed at different times. For example, the extruded food segments may be placed on a conveyor which carries the food segments to an area for placement within the packaging units.
Finally, at step 60, the packaging units are covered and washed. For example, if the packaging units are tubes, a cap may be placed on each tube in order to contain the food segment. Each capped tube is then conveyed to a wash area to remove any syrup or other by-product of the food item. Tamper evident bands may be placed on the capped tubes and then exposed to heat shrinking in order to mold the tamper evident band to the cap and the tube.
